Upper Paleolithic Flintknapping Specialists?: The Evidence from Corbiac, France

Abstract

Quantified technological attributes of a sample of artifacts from the Evolved Perigordian component of the site of Corbiac, near Bergerac, France, permit a reconstruction of stone tool making behavior. These attributes exhibit a low statistical variance which suggests that the Evolved Perigordian component may represent specialization in task performance. Some of the significant aspects of this proposition are that the upper Paleolithic may contain the rudimentary forms of economic exchange systems and some degree of part-time lithic craft specialization.